SYNOPSIS: An account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of a tsunami wave that hit the pacific coast of Thailand on December 26th, 2004.

REVIEW: Juan Antonio Bayona, most known to American audiences as the director of the Guillermo del Toro produced The Orphanage, takes on a disaster/thriller of another sort. Bayona reteams with The Orphanage writer Sergio G. Sánchez and newcomer scribe María Belón to face down a monstrous natural disaster from the perspective of a couple and their three young boys.

Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts, Dream House), her husband Henry (Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen), and their three sons Lucas (Tom Holland, voice - The Secret World of Arrietty), Thomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) take a winter vacation in Khao Lak, Thailand for the Christmas holiday. Spending a couple days in a wonderful island resort swimming in the pools, snorkeling in the ocean, and playing on the beaches, their vacations seems idyllic. When a tsunami wave suddenly crashes into the coast and surges inland, the Bennett family are swept away in the wave away from each other. What comes next is a harrowing experience of survival of the body and spirit as each surviving member of the family must make sense of their new deconstructed surroundings - all the while struggling to stay alive and struggling to find out the fate of their loved ones.

In December of 2004, the Pacific Ocean erupted with destructive force, sending to shore a true life massive powerful tsunami wave to nearby Pacific Rim coastlines. Regardless of whether one lived in a shack or a newly constructed villa resort hotel, no one was safe or sheltered from the deadly slam of water that destroyed property, landscapes, and lives. The story of the Bennett family is just one of a thousand stories that affected real people living in Thailand and throughout the Rim.

Naomi Watts delivers a powerful performance as Maria, a mother desperate to survive her injuries and try to find a way to reunite with her family. After such a traumatic and unexpected event, who can one person do against such overwhelming odds? Her acting experience and talent is a tour de force equal to what nature has crashed into her character and her family. Watts' performance is nearly matched by that of young Tom Holland, Maria's oldest son Lucas in the film. His portrayal is raw and real, becoming more an anchor to the story than Watts or McGregor. The film really is the journey of a young boy becoming more than a boy.

Bayona's direction is riveting, part art house, part epic. He and Oscar Fuara (The Machinist) make every shot or sequence exquisite. From the way the warming sunlight dances through the ruined trees or shimmering off the same receding waters that caused the devastation. Extreme "pull-back" camera work shows the insignificance of man versus the immensity of the world itself. Add in Fernando Velázquez's (Mama) subtle, eerie, and haunting score, and the stage is set for a phenomenal, emotional, and moving family portrait.

The Impossible is a spectacularly personal account of real and tragic events. The film is moving and emotional, focusing on a family's perseverance stands against the insurmountable forces of nature.

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